Certain refrigerator appliances utilize sealed systems for cooling chilled chambers of the refrigerator appliances. A typical sealed system includes an evaporator and a fan, the fan generating a flow of air across the evaporator and cooling the flow of air. The cooled air is then provided through an opening into the chilled chamber to maintain the chilled chamber at a desired temperature. Air from the chilled chamber is circulated back through a return duct to be re-cooled by the sealed system during operation of the refrigerator appliance, maintaining the chilled chamber at the desired temperature.
Refrigerator doors may provide access to the chilled chambers of refrigerator appliances. Such refrigerator doors commonly include an outer door frame, a door liner, and foam insulation. The outer door frame is typically constructed of rigid material such as steel and is stamped or otherwise formed to the desired door shape. The door liner is typically formed from a combination of injection-molded and thermoformed parts. The door liner is then sealed against the outer door frame to form an insulating cavity. Insulating foam is then sprayed inside the cavity to provide insulation and structural support for the door liner.
In some refrigerator appliances, an icemaker may be mounted to the refrigerator door of a bottom mount refrigerator, such that it is located in an icebox compartment within the fresh food chamber. The icebox compartment is defined at least in part by the door liner and has an icebox door to insulate the icebox compartment while providing access to components inside the icebox compartment—e.g., icemaker, ice storage bin, etc. Because the fresh food chamber is typically maintained at a temperature above the freezing point of water, the icebox compartment may receive chilled air from the sealed system to enable ice production.
The icebox door is typically mounted to the icebox compartment using a metal hinge pin assembly. The hinge pin assembly may include a metal hinge bracket and metal hinge pin that are assembled and painted before being attached to the icebox compartment. The hinge pin assembly is attached to the icebox compartment using a foam gasket, adhesive, and fours screws. The additional parts require separate design, tooling, procurement, and storage. Moreover, the icebox compartment must be fabricated with or machined to have four holes for receiving the screws to attach the hinge bracket. Notably, the holes in the door liner create leak points that cause issues during the foam insulation process. For example, foam leaks around the door hinge assemblies can occur and may result in the scrapping of expensive foam door assemblies. The hinge pin assemblies are also susceptible to misalignment or improper installation.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance including an injection-molded door liner having one or more features that are integrally formed would be useful. More particularly, a door liner for a refrigerator appliance including an icebox defining one or more hinge pins to which a door may be mounted without a complex assembly of multiple, separately fabricated parts would be especially beneficial.